The Ice Melted
by jerjonji
Summary: A Prequel to the Anime. Some spoilers after episode 6 or 7. Did you ever wonder why Mannen, Hajime, and Shin are always together? What happens when a Leafe Knight dies? Here’s one suggestion. In this one, Mannen, Hajime, and Shin are the older ones.
1. Ice Crystals

A Prequel to the Anime. Some spoilers after episode 6 or 7. Did you ever wonder why Mannen, Hajime, and Shin are always together? What happens when a Leafe Knight dies? Here's one suggestion. In this one, Mannen, Hajime, and Shin are the older ones. Hope you enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: None of the Pretear characters belong to me, unfortunately! But all mistakes and character errors are my own!  
jerjonji  
  
The Ice Melted  
  
By jerjonji  
  
Chapter 1: Ice Crystals  
  
The crystalline ice particles hung in the air before forming into a tall, elegant Leafe Knight, his frost gray hair flowed in the air. His icy blue eyes surveyed the scene before him and a scowl clouded his young face.  
  
The stained-glass window shards sparkled in the sunlight giving a rainbow halo surrounding the two young knights lying injured on the sanctuary floor. Hayate held his aching side, his face ashen from the stabbing pain. His jet-black hair glistening purple in the dusty sunlight, the shards of colored glass adorned his hair like shimmering beads. Lying on his side, Sasame's chest barely moved, unconscious from the blow Takako had given him moments before. The breeze blew as Mannen's missing partners formed beside him. Shin rushed to Sasame's side, while Hajime struggled to get Hayate on his feet. Hayate moaned from the pain of the movement.  
"Takako?" Mannen strived to control the anger raging inside him, but the coldness in his voice burned Hayate like Gou's flame. Hayate shook his head in shame. "Gone," he paused, his voice breaking, unable to say the truth, "To the dark side," Hayate muttered, unable to look his leader in the face.  
Kei and Gou visualized next to Mannen.  
"There's a reason for the rules, Hayate. If you continue to break them, it will cost us dearly. You need to grow up before it's too late." Mannen said sharply. Gou moved to Hayate's side to protect him from Mannen's anger. Hayate's face flushed at the rebuke, but he bit back his response. Miserable, unable to look at Sasame's fallen body, he felt responsible for Sasame's injuries. He wasn't sure how he could have prevented this, but he should have done something differently. Mannen's right, like usual, he thought.  
"Mannen," reproached Shin, his arm holding Hayate upright. "That doesn't help."  
Hajime looked up from Sasame's side, his hand still on Sasame's forehead, and agreed. "The important thing is to figure out how to keep her from damaging things worse." Shin nodded, "Her need for leafe will begin growing quickly if we can't restrain her."  
Mannen's eyes flashed. He glared at Hayate. "Shin, Gou!" he commanded. "Take Sasame back and begin restoring his leafe. Kei, can you track her movements on your computer?" Kei nodded yes. "Hajime and I will begin searching for signs of her." Kei sat on the back of the front pew, his laptop open on his knees. He brushed his blond hair out of his face, chewed on his bottom lip, and waited impatiently for the program. He looked at the destruction of the interior of the church from Takako's change. Pews lay in a heap on the floor, and the stain glass windows on one whole side were blown out. Hymnal pages blew into the corners of the sanctuary. Blood from Hayate's wound soaked into the carpet runner staining it a deep red. I need a faster laptop, he thought. It's taking too long to start up, and I'm not sure I'll be able to track Takako either. Maybe my newest program has the bugs out of it. His fingers tapped on the top of the wooden pew impatiently waiting to hit the keyboard. Hayate opened his mouth to speak but closed it after glancing at Mannen's angry face. "Hayate, go with Shin and Gou and get that injury looked at." He turned and disappeared in a flash. Hajime waited until Gou took Hayate's weight on himself before joining Mannen in the search. Shin looked at Hayate's hurt face. "It's just Mannen, Hayate. You know he takes things seriously since he's in charge."  
Gou joined in. "He'll apologize after everything's over. He always does, Hayate. You know that. Let's get that injury looked at."  
"He's right, though, Hayate." Kei interjected. "I know you don't want to hear it, but your actions almost killed Sasame today. Who knows who it'll hurt next time."  
  
"I didn't ask her to love me," Hayate complained softly.  
"Your rejection of her made her reject all of us," Kei explained. "I told you to be more reserved and restrained, not so eager to make her happy."  
Hayate nodded respectfully. He knew Kei spoke truthfully even when it hurt.  
Kei sighed as his partners left. Hayate couldn't see how his actions would cause any impressionable child to fall in love with him, much less the talented Pretear. Learning to restrain yourself, to keep a part of yourself back when you merged with the Pretear, was essential if you're going to keep emotions in check. But this was Hayate's first Pretear, and he always gave 100% of whatever he did. He had spoken to Hayate countless times about controlling himself, but Hayate's stubbornness made him deaf to Kei's warnings. 


	2. Heart Frost

Chapter 2: Heart Frost  
  
Mannen knelt by the pond, watching the koi swim peacefully by the lily pads. He worried about the consequences of Takako's decision to reject the Knights. The weeks ahead would be difficult for all of them, he thought anxiously. He picked up a twig and drew aimlessly in the mud on the bank.  
  
A blue dragonfly skimmed the water's surface, and Mannen smiled watching it. The rhythms of nature began to calm his agitated spirit. Unable to shake off the feelings of hopelessness he felt seeing Sasame lying as if dead, Mannen relived the memory of seeing each Knight die again. He prayed that the younger four would never experience that debilitating grief, but he knew the odds were against it. Dying was part of the cost of being a Liefe Knight.  
  
Hajime silently approached his old friend. He could feel Mannen's spirit calming from the frustration of finding two of the youngest Knights injured and the Pretear gone- no longer available to help them battle the destruction of the leafe. He put his arm on Mannen's shoulder. "You never forget the first time you see a Knight die, do you, Mannen?"  
  
"I thought we'd never have to experience this again," his shoulders shuddered from the depth of his sigh. "Seeing Sasame lying there barely alive made it feel like it was starting all over. I can't live through losing another Knight, Haji," Mannen confessed.  
  
The hurt in his voice echoed in Hajime's heart. He couldn't think of the right words to say that would ease Mannen's pain. He'd had the same reaction when he spotted Sasame sprawled on the floor, and Hayate writhing in agony. Silently, Hajime sat next to his best friend, the one he was closer to than a blood brother. He remembered watching Kei lose his leafe and fade away. He and Mannen were the youngest at the time, but you never forget the death of a brother Knight.  
  
It changes you in ways you never quite understand at first. The cost of battle always clings to your mind, a silent fear while you engage the enemy. It made you anxious, almost ill, when you didn't feel the presence of a partner in your subconscious. The emptiness inside for the missing Knight ached even after finding the replacement knight.  
  
His hand twisted the white Knight talisman hanging from his long blond hair strand absent-mindedly. Each Knight wears their talisman constantly. It keeps the knights in tune with each other in an almost psychic manner. They are born wearing them, marking each young orphan for knighthood, and most never think about them any more than the average person thinks about their fingers or toes. Hajime played with his because it hung in front of him.  
  
The Knight talisman enables Tipi to locate the new knight when the time for him to join the brothers had come. The discovery of a new Knight was always a time of joy mingled with grief for the lost brother. While the resemblance was strong to the former knight, the new one didn't have the memories of the lost one or the experiences. The personalities could be very different as each newly born knight was unique and the bonds of brotherhood needed to be remade.  
  
The younger Knights hadn't experienced the fear of losing a brother yet. Only Mannen, Shin, and he had lived through the last deaths, watching Knight after Knight taken in battle until they found a Pretear to join with. Kei first, then Hayate, and Gou, and lastly Sasame gone, their leafe dissipating into the blue sky, their Knight talismans left behind.  
  
Losing four partners in less than a year made Mannen, Hajime, and Shin inseparable while they waited for the replacement knights to reappear. They never went anywhere alone, worried that they'd lose another one and be unable to protect the earth.  
  
It takes years to grow enough leafe to restore a young Knight without a Pretear, and there were four elements needed this time: light, wind, fire, and sound. Not having the youngest four knights with them left the remaining three crippled and barely effective. It took almost nine years before there was enough leafe to supplant the missing knights. Even after that length of time, they appeared months apart with Kei, the first, born in February, and Sasame, the youngest, not showing up until the end of December the following year. Hajime recalled the feeling of relief when Tipi finally led them to the youngest orphan knight, barely four, wandering the city streets.  
  
The long years of waiting for Tipi to lead them to a new knight dulled the edge of the grief from the losses, but Hajime knew Mannen felt the grief more keenly than he or Shin. As the oldest of the knights and the leader, Mannen felt responsible. Sometimes, it made him speak sharper than Hajime liked, but he and Shin would protect the younger ones from Mannen's ire. Gou was becoming more protective lately as well, a sign he was growing up and almost of age.  
  
Having four young knights at one time had been hard on the three older knights and Hajime knew Mannen worried they weren't doing as good a job training them as they would have done if they only had to one.  
  
Mannen and Hajime sat side by side, lost in their own memories, not noticing the sun setting reflecting on the pond and the evening's darkness creeping into the world, mirroring their moods. Shin joined them quietly, handing each of them a Ramune.  
  
"Both young ones are healing nicely. Hayate will have another scar to add to his others, but Sasame got off with a severe headache." Shin said softly, pushing the marble down to open the soda.  
  
"We were lucky this time," Mannen added, tilting back the bottle, listening to the marble rattle gently. The cool melon taste soothed his throat. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was. It was typical of Shin to know what he needed even before he knew himself, much less bring his favorite flavor. He lifted the bottle as if to toast it, and Shin and Hajime clinked theirs with his. "Arigato! Thanks, Shin!" "Um-hum," Shin and Hajime said in agreement.  
  
Shin sighed. "At least the younger knights are seventeen now. If this had happened earlier, we wouldn't be prepared for it."  
  
Hajime shook his head, "Sasame won't be seventeen for a couple months, Shin. He hasn't had his Knight Ceremony yet." Hajime said, reminding Mannen gently.  
  
The Knight Ceremony is the critical Coming of Age Ceremony each knight has on his seventeenth birthday. He takes his vows of knighthood and as a result comes into his full sense of power and control, which freezes him at seventeen years of age for as long as he continues to wear his Knight Talisman. Rejection of the talisman begins the normal aging process again, according to Knight Myth. There hadn't been a knight choosing to remove his talisman as far back as Mannen could remember. There were no stories of a knight rejecting his vows and deciding to die before his time.  
  
Kei, Hayate, and Gou had their ceremonies in the last year, but Sasame's wasn't until his birthday, December 30th. The younger three had been teasing him unmercifully for being the only baby in the clan.  
  
Mannen frowned, "If the young ones were still children, this wouldn't have happened either. Did either of you know Takako was developing inappropriate feelings for Hayate? Why didn't we see this coming?"  
  
Hajime shrugged. "It happens sometimes, Mannen. You know that. Hayate didn't encourage her on purpose. It's just who he is."  
  
Shin agreed, "Kei's been talking to him, but Hayate's stubborn. He doesn't listen well. He never has."  
  
"Any idea on what we do next?" worried Hajime. "There was no sign of her when Mannen and I looked for her today."  
  
Mannen scowled, his heart frozen with fear. "We start patrolling until something breaks. And then we fight. Shin, you need to begin forming a place to hold her. If we can restrain her without killing her, the younger ones will feel better about it. Without a Pretear, it's going to be tough to contain her." Hajime's eyes flooded with hot tears. He choked, unable to swallow from the lump in his throat. He had not been honest with himself about what this meant for Takako. He wasn't sure he could bring himself to end the life of someone he'd united with, fought with, was connected to, but he hated the idea of confining her for life as well. He tried to wipe them away without Mannen or Shin noticing, but Shin leaned against him and he felt Shin's heart breaking as well.  
  
Mannen looked away, unable to comfort either knight. He felt the heavy mantle of leadership on his shoulders, and thought for the thousandth time, it shouldn't have been him leading the Liefe Knights. After they lost the older knights, it was just Hajime, Shin, and him picking up the pieces. He became leader by default. It should have been Kei. He was really the oldest. Kei should be worrying about how to deal with a Pretear who rejected her powers for revenge. If they hadn't left him behind, he would be worrying about snowboarding or skiing, or being a normal teen for a change instead of a rogue Pretear.  
  
He walked down to the water line on the pond and watched the full moon floating on top of the water. He toyed with walking away, but his sense of loyalty to Shin and Hajime held him firmly to his duty. No one wants to make the hard decisions ahead of us, he thought resentfully, and no one is going to be happy about mine. Look at Shin and Haji now, crying already, and nothing's happened yet. A wave of failure and despair swept over him. Leader or not, he'd do whatever it took to contain the consequences of Hayate's actions.  
  
Shin and Haji moved swiftly beside him, throwing an arm around his neck. "We're in this together, brother." Haji said. "You're not doing this alone."  
  
Shin punched him lightly in the chin. "We will do whatever it takes, Mannen. Whatever the cost." His words came back to haunt him less than a week later. 


	3. A Crack In the Ice

Chapter Three: A Crack in the Ice  
  
A row of empty cobalt-blue bottles of Bawls, Kei's favorite method of ingesting caffeine quickly in order to survive programming all nighters, lined the shelf above Kei's desk. He glanced up, rubbing his bloodshot eyes and rolled his neck, loosening the tightening muscles.  
  
Pushing back from his desk and standing up, the tenseness between his shoulder blades started to release after he stretched and moved through a basic warm-up kata. He checked the clock. He'd been working for thirty- eight hours straight on his tracking software and it wasn't working yet. He couldn't track down the bug even after hammering on it for hours. The sense of urgency nagged him subconsciously. His stomach growled. He didn't remember eating, but the empty take-out containers in the trash reminded him that Gou had been by to briefly drop off cartons of warm food. He wondered how long it'd been since the last time Gou had been by with a food delivery.  
  
Block, kick, block, kick, turn, block. He worked his way through a simple martial arts kata he'd learned when he was six from Mannen. He finished, sweat barely beading on his face, but the computer bug was still blinking on his screen. Hajime clapped, startling him.  
  
"Looking fluid," Hajime called out, perched on the table behind him, his chin on his knee. Kei bowed slightly. "Didn't know you still practiced much, Kei," Hajime said affectionately.  
  
"It helps me think, sometimes." Kei dropped back into his chair, and swung it around to look at Hajime. "What's up?"  
  
Hajime motioned to the bag sitting next to him with his eyes. "Gou asked me to make a delivery for him."  
  
Kei snatched open the bag and the smell of warm vegetables filled the room. Swinging back to his computer screen, he ate quickly, barely tasting the food, scrolling with one hand and scanning for the illusive bug.  
  
Hajime watched him. "Stuck?" he asked.  
  
"Umm," Kei said, barely listening, throwing the empty carton in the trashcan.  
  
"How long have you been stuck?" Hajime persisted.  
  
Kei glanced at the time on his computer screen. "Twenty hours," he muttered.  
  
Hajime jumped down from the table. "You haven't been home in two days. When's the last time you showered?" He asked, moving behind Kei.  
  
"Umm?" Kei replied, no longer listening.  
  
Hajime moved between Kei and the screen, his arms folded. "Knock it off, Hajime. I don't have time to play with you," Kei protested, trying to shove Hajime away.  
  
Hajime stood firm. "Take a break. Go home, shower, jog. Do something else, Kei. If you haven't solved this in twenty hours, you're not going to solve it right now. I'd say take a nap, but from the number of Bawls here, you have enough caffeine in you to keep going another thirty-eight hours at least."  
  
"I almost have it," Kei muttered. Hajime glared at him.  
  
"Another hour?" he asked. Hajime refused to move an inch. Kei sighed and stood up, running his hand through his long blond hair, his fingers tangling in the knots. He glanced down at his crumpled clothing. Usually immaculately dressed, his clothes showed the stress of the last thirty- eight hours. He sighed, "Let me save it and then I'll go shower and change."  
  
Hajime moved a fraction of an inch. "I'll go with you." He waited patiently while Kei saved his latest version.  
  
The house seemed unusually quiet. Hayate slept on the sofa, his long blue hair flowing over the arm, his boots kicked off in his sleep. One arm covered his eyes to keep out the light. Kei nodded at Hayate, his eyes questioning.  
  
"He's been out on patrol constantly since his wounds have healed." Hajime replied.  
  
"Where's everyone else?" Kei asked glancing at the in/out board hanging by the front door as he switched tag with his name from out to home. Hajime moved his tag. Hayate's name was the only other tag home. Mannen had instituted the check-in system after everyone searched for hours for Sasame when he was seven. They finally found him sound asleep under Gou's bed. House rules required that you move your tag when you left the house, even when you left for work or school. It had become an ingrained habit and you could tell quickly who was home.  
  
"Gou's working. Shin's in Liefenia working. Mannen and Sasame went back out on patrol a few minutes before I left." Hajime said softly. He covered Hayate with a blanket and closed the shades in the room. Kei shrugged and left to shower.  
  
His eyes closed, feeling the warm water flow over his body, Kei began unwinding. His mind ran lines of computer code as he stood in the water. Ok, ok, ok, ok, he thought mentally scanning each line for an error. No, wait, run that line again. The tingling on his ring finger made him lose track of where he was. He recognized the sensation instantly; Mannen was in trouble. He flew from the shower, barely pausing to dry off, pulling his long blond hair back and wrapping it dripping wet with a rubber band all while changing into Liefe Knight of Light.  
  
Mannen was fighting for his life against a gigantic monster worm. He struggled to free himself while Sasame hit the Monster again and again with Sound Waves, but the monster gripped Mannen even tighter, draining his leafe rapidly from his body. Mannen quit struggling, growing paler. Hajime joined the fray using his water cannon. Kei threw balls of glowing light, but the monster worm whipped Mannen around as if he was already dead. A brilliant flash of light hit the monster squarely who recoiled. The other Knights arrived and joined the battle. Gou's fire ax whacked on the tendril restraining Mannen, and Mannen fell. Hajime swooped under him and eased him down to the ground. "Shin," he yelled, a sense of dread and hopelessness filling him. "Wake up, Mannen. Wake up!"  
  
The monster worm took one last hit from the remaining knights before exploding and disappearing. The Knights gathered around their fallen leader who lay motionless on the sidewalk. Shin was already working to revive him.  
  
Kneeling at Mannen's head, Shin placed his hand on Mannen's forehead and another on his armband. Shin's hand on Mannen's forehead felt Mannen's body growing colder. His head fell on top of Mannen's and tears ran down his cheeks onto Mannen's face. Hajime shook Mannen gently at first, then harder. But Mannen's leafe bubbled away from his body, first red, then ice blue bubbles arose into the sky. The younger knights watched with horror as his leafe dissipated. Mannen's spirit appeared briefly before them. He spoke softly, and they strained to listen to him. "Takako- bridge tower. Careful." His last words faded away as his body returned to dust, leaving behind his Knight Talisman armlet, rolling gently in a circle on the sidewalk.  
  
Hayate turned away, unable to bear it. Sasame put his arm around him to comfort him, but he shook it off, angry.  
  
Hajime and Shin, still kneeling where Mannen's body used to be, watched the armlet spin until it lost its momentum and fell silent. Muted tears flowed down their face. They had no comfort to offer the younger knights, lost in their own hurt and pain.  
  
Gou picked up the talisman tenderly and held it in his palm. He searched for a response to it in his body, but there was an emptiness where Mannen had always been. He couldn't remember never not feeling Mannen's presence inside him. From the day he was born, he had felt Mannen, Hajime, Shin, Kei, and Hayate's presence with him. He had never felt alone. He was not more than fifteen months old when Sasame was born, but he greeted him instantly as Sasame's presence joined the others. He talked aloud to them as soon as he could talk, and the orphanage workers teased him about his imaginary brothers.  
  
When the other boys teased and taunted him, he threatened them with Mannen, saying, "My big brother will beat up you. He's coming to take me away." From the day the older knights found him and brought him home, he knew this was where he was suppose to be, who he was meant to become. Mannen's bossiness and roughness was just a sign to Gou that he belonged, that he was safe and home. Unlike Hayate who resented Mannen's attitude and refused to follow the rules, Gou was just happy to be home.  
  
Kei reached out to take Mannen's talisman, and Gou laid it lightly in his hand.  
  
Sasame spoke softly in Hayate's ear. "This isn't your fault, Hayate. Don't blame yourself for this too."  
  
Hayate raised his hand to ward off the words, and flashed out of sight. "Hayate," Sasame called, his face reflecting the loss.  
  
Shin looked up. The remaining three young knights stood suffering before him. He shoved aside his own grief and worked to form the words Sasame and the others needed to hear right now. "Let him go, Sasame. Each of us will have to deal with this in our own way. Hayate needs to be alone right now."  
  
Hajime leaned back on his heels and looked up at the clear blue sky. He could hear birds singing in the trees, the wind caressed his face lightly, and the sun burned on his cheeks. It was too nice a day to die, Mannen, he thought. What are we going to do without you?  
  
Kei handed Hajime the talisman. "I'm going back to work. I have a bug to find," he said sharply before disappearing.  
  
Hayate stood before Mannen's check-in board, Mannen's tag in his hand. In, out, in, out, Hayate thought. He traced the imprint of Mannen's name with his fingers before slipping it in his pocket. He couldn't hang it on the in or the out column. Mannen isn't coming home any time soon, he thought. He walked into the room Mannen shared with Hajime and Shin. Mannen's bedcovers were in a heap in the middle of the bed. On Mannen's desk was his notebook. Hayate sat in the middle of Mannen's bed, reading Mannen's notes. 


	4. Icy Wind on the Pond

Chapter 4: Icy Wind on the Pond  
  
Hayate stood before the check-in board, Mannen's tag in his hand. In, out, in, out, Hayate thought. He traced the imprint of Mannen's name with his fingers before slipping it in his pocket. He couldn't hang it on the in or the out column. Mannen isn't coming home any time soon, he thought. He walked into the room Mannen shared with Hajime and Shin.  
  
Mannen's bedcovers were in a heap in the middle of his bed. A restless sleeper, Mannen's blankets slid off the bed nightly, landing on a heap on the floor. Shin and Hajime complained about his restlessness almost daily. Mannen talks in his sleep. Mannen's snores kept us up all night- but not tonight- not tomorrow, Hayate remembered.  
  
He wiped away the tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He fought with Mannen more than with any of his other brother Knights. He hated the way Mannen bossed him around, making rules, demanding obedience. Hayate chaffed at Mannen's leadership and the way the older knight was always right. He hated the way Mannen talked down to him, treating him like a child at times, but he would have done anything to protect Mannen.  
  
Underneath all their bickering and fighting was a union tighter than blood. They weren't best friends like Sasame and him, but Mannen was father, sensei, mentor, big brother, and friend. The emptiness inside him wouldn't go away. He flushed with a sense of shame and failure and felt the anger boiling inside him again.  
  
He spotted Mannen's notebook on his desk, and picked up the battered marbled journal. Mannen kept copious notes, saying you never knew when you'd need them later. All labeled and dated, Mannen's journals over the years lined the corner bookshelf. Hayate had always found Mannen's scribbling habit funny, but he held the book tightly to his chest now. He sat in the middle of Mannen's bed, turned to Mannen's latest entries and read them, Mannen's blanket pulled around him tightly. The comforting smell of Mannen lingered still in the blanket and he read, wiping away his tears on the satin corner of the blanket.  
  
Kei worked feverish on his program, lost in the land of zeros and ones. He reviewed each line of code and tried several changes. He was sure he was closer to solving the bug, he could feel it. He didn't think about Mannen, Hayate, or the others once. He just code crunched as if his life depended on it, occasionally emptying another bottle of the sweet berry tasting caffeine laden Bawls. The expansive row of cobalt-blue bottles was quite impressive.  
  
A shadow fell on his screen, and he looked up, frustrated at the interruption. Hayate stood next to him, holding out Mannen's notebook toward him.  
  
"Go away," Kei responded, returning to his keyboard, flexing his aching fingers briefly before starting to enter code again.  
  
"Mannen figured it out," Hayate responded, "And we don't have a lot of time to implement it. Takako is growing stronger every day. Without a Pretear and now without- without-" Hayate's voice broke. It was too soon to say it out loud.  
  
Kei sighed and pushed away from his workstation. He reached out and took the notebook from Mannen. "He could have kept all this on a disk," Kei muttered. He opened it to the pages Hayate marked and began skimming the entries. Mannen's plan was almost complete. The only missing part was where to find Takako, as far as Kei could figure out.  
  
Hayate stood silent while Kei read. He finished, turned back to the beginning, and began again. Hayate shifted his feet anxiously. "If you can't be still, go away," Kei chided him sharply.  
  
Hayate sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, hugging his knees, his face buried under his long hair, lost in his memories of the first time he saw Mannen.  
  
He was barely five years old and Mannen looked like a wild giant with his frosty gray hair flowing in all directions, his eyes sharp and cold. He thought Mannen was twenty feet tall that day.  
  
Mannen knelt on one knee in front of him and held out a hand. Hayate, wary from his experience on the streets, squinted at Mannen, not moving. He'd been running on the streets as long as he could remember. His body was a mass of bruises and cuts from a recent run in with an older gang of boys and he hadn't eaten in days. Shin's face looked horrified at the mostly dead child in front of them, but at the time Hayate thought Shin hated him. His body on alert, ready to dash off in an instant, he recoiled at Shin's voice.  
  
"I told you we needed to find him earlier, Mannen," Shin's voice scolded Mannen, but Hayate knew he was really scolding him. He ducked behind a box in the alley, picking up a rotten cabbage to throw at the intruders.  
  
"Shush," Mannen said sharply. "He wasn't ready until now. Tipi's never wrong about this."  
  
Hayate hurled the cabbage at Mannen's chest and started to fly away. Even this weak, he was still quick. There was no way these strangers were hurting him, he thought fiercely. He had taken on a whole gang two days ago and was the last one standing, he remembered proudly.  
  
"Hayate," a small voice called to him warmly. Hayate looked around for the person calling him. He knew that voice. He trusted that voice. He searched his memory for the name. Amazed, he found he knew the names of the Goliaths before him: Mannen, the one with the wild hair; Shin in the green stood next to Mannen; and Hajime with the long single strand of hair hanging down from both sides was behind the other two. A small blond boy on Hajime's shoulders held on tightly to both hair strands, as if he'd fall if he let go.  
  
If it hadn't been for the small blond boy peeking out from behind Hajime's camouflage hat calling to him, Hayate would have run away. Kei, he remembered. Kei. He took a step toward Kei without thinking.  
  
Mannen's hand stretched out towards the child. Off balance from Kei's voice, he didn't notice Mannen's quick grasp. Mannen had him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. His fists and feet flailed uselessly connecting with air. Mannen laughed good-naturedly, brushing rotten cabbage off his shirt with his free hand. "You're going to have to grow some, little man, before you can hurt me. Let's go home, Hayate."  
  
I'm a man now, Hayate thought, and I hurt you badly this time, Mannen. I'm sorry! He sniffed back the tears.  
  
Kei ignored him and read through the material again and again, looking for flaws and problems in Mannen's plan.  
  
"Sasame and Gou aren't going to like this," Kei said, finally shutting the book, "But it's the only thing that'll work. But you're right. According to Mannen's calculations, we don't have much time left to try this."  
  
"Why didn't he tell us?" Hayate asked, his voice muffled from beneath his hair.  
  
Kei sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Because you're the bait, Hayate, and Mannen would never have asked you to do that. He loved you too much. I'm sure he was searching for another way to restrain Takako."  
  
A cold wind filled the room, making Kei shiver. "Knock it off, Hayate!" he said tersely. "Things are hard enough without you acting childish." 


	5. Light In the Winter

Chapter 5: Light in the Winter  
  
Kei never thought about the days before he was reunited with the knights. He had almost no memories of his life before, unlike Hayate and Gou. He was younger than the others, barely two when the older knights found him. He faintly remembered a warm shadow holding him and rocking him to sleep, humming a familiar lullaby. A ball of light flashed in front of him almost blinding him and then he was standing in the dark, alone. Mannen, Shin, and Hajime were beside him almost instantly.  
  
"Don't look, baby." Mannen called, scooping him up and fleeing the scene with his eyes covered. He heard Hajime spraying water behind him, but it was years before he realized what had happened. The burning flames had licked at his pajama covered feet, burning them so badly he couldn't walk for weeks.  
  
Shin and Hajime catered to his every whim, making him laugh, feeding him ice cream and cake, carrying him everywhere on their shoulders until Mannen declared him healed and ready to walk.  
  
But whenever Shin and Hajime weren't around, Mannen would lift him on his shoulders and run like the wind until Kei laughed until he peed his pants, making Mannen grimace as the warm, strong smelling liquid ran down his collar. Mannen would set him down in the sink, strip him naked, and turn the sink hose on his legs to rinse away the pee, before removing his shirt and turning the nozzle on his own neck and back.  
  
Their favorite thing to do together was for Mannen to spray a small pond- size puddle from the garden hose in the back yard and then he's blow on it, freezing it. He and Mannen would slide around on the ice, slipping and falling until they were drenched from the thawing ice. Mannen would make hot chocolate with huge bouncy marshmallows for snack with graham crackers. Kei loved the days Mannen had "baby duty" as the older knights called it.  
  
The older knights quickly discovered Kei's ability to figure things out when he began dismantling electrical items whenever someone wasn't watching him carefully enough. He took apart several telephones, a TV set, and the toaster before they started tethering him out of reach of electrical items when they needed to leave him alone for a few minutes. It was better to listen to him cry for a few minutes instead of seeing the stereo system in parts when you returned from the kitchen.  
  
Hajime learned to bring home "recycled" toys from the Thrift Store to keep the "baby" happy long enough for them to get some work done. One day he brought home an ancient TI Texas Instrument computer that had seen happier days a long time ago, and the boys finally discovered a little peace for the first time since Kei had joined the household. Kei disassembled the tiny machine several times before he got a blinking green curser on the monitor. After that, they brought home old computer parts until Kei's bedroom looked like a graveyard for electronics components. Kei built his first working computer before his fourth birthday.  
  
The strange red and green lights glowing from miscellaneous electronic parts were an odd night light for a young child, but one Kei found comforting. He no longer cried when they put him to bed and turned out the light. It was worth it to the exhausted older boys to no longer fight with Kei when they put him to bed at night.  
  
Mannen had been adamant from the beginning that Kei sleep in his own bed after waking up to sopping sheets and a soggy child curled against his back once or twice. Shin or Hajime agreed whole-heartedly after having the same experience.  
  
When Hayate finally joined them a few years later, Kei's computer parts had completely taken over the bedroom. Mannen moved out of his room and in with Shin and Hajime to make room for Hayate in Kei's room. Kei's computer junkyard was moved to Mannen's room and Kei called it his "office" much to the older boys' amusement.  
  
Kei learned to sleep without the glow of his computer lights and Hayate worked on not punching Kei when he rolled on him in the middle of the night.  
  
After separating the boys from a midnight fight, Mannen looked down at the fierce newcomer. "No fighting at night, Hayate. Hear me?" Hajime held the tiny fighter back as Hayate took another swipe at Kei.  
  
Hayate looked at Mannen aggressively, his fists still swinging. "Kei kick Hayate," he proclaimed.  
  
Shin, holding the sobbing Kei, wiped his nose quickly before the little one used Shin's shirt as a tissue. A habit the three older ones tried to discourage as much as possible, but swift action was required to avoid it.  
  
Mannen knelt in front of Hayate's small body, and took his tiny, balled up fists in his big hands. He gently opened them and held them tightly between his. "No hitting, Hayate," he said sternly.  
  
"Kei no kick Hayate." Kei said between sniffles. "Kei bite Hayate, right on his back!" He said proudly.  
  
Hajime unbuttoned Hayate's pajama top and pulled down the back. Kei hadn't lied. The older boys gasped. Teeth marks formed perfect rings on Hayate's shoulders and back. Kei had bitten Hayate hard several times. A few were bleeding. Shin handed Kei to Hajime and looked carefully at Hayate's wounds.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mannen scolded, but Hayate shrugged.  
  
Hajime grinned at his fellow knights. "Two young knights home, two to go," he announced cheerfully. Mannen and Shin sighed. Two were hard enough.  
  
"At this rate, these two will kill each other before Gou and Sasame come back," Mannen muttered.  
  
Kei shook off his memories and looked at Hayate curled in a ball in the fetal position on the floor. He sat next to Hayate's body on the floor, putting his hand on Hayate's forehead. "Remember the night you bit me, Hayate? We were five years old, I think, and you had just come home."  
  
Hayate didn't respond. Kei lifted Hayate's head onto his own lap. "We've been fighting a long time, Hayate, but I've always forgiven you and Mannen too." He brushed Hayate's hair away from his face. He felt Hayate's hot tears on his pants leg. He brushed them away with his hand, feeling their moistness on his aching fingers. "Acting like this hurts us all, Hayate. You need to forgive yourself. We've already forgiven you."  
  
Hayate muttered something, but Kei didn't catch it. "What?" he asked.  
  
"It's not over, I said," Hayate repeated, slightly resentfully.  
  
Kei smiled and created a small ball of golden light. Hayate sat up next to him and watched as Kei made the ball dance and swim around the dark room. Hayate stretched out his hand and Kei landed the warm ball in the center of Hayate's palm. A smile flitted across Hayate's face.  
  
"You used to do this at night after the older ones put us to bed," Hayate remembered. "You haven't done this for years."  
  
Kei streaked the ball across the room so fast that it left a trail of light behind it. It went so fast, the light trail stayed in place forming a perfect circle. When he was finished, a golden happy face hung in the air between them. Hayate blew gently until the smiley turned into first a frown and then a glare. They laughed at old childish habits, leaning against each other comfortably. 


	6. The Avalance Begins

Chapter 6: The Avalanche Begins  
  
Sasame moped in the room he shared with Hayate. Hayate and Kei had been missing for hours. The older two knights had gone to Liefenia and Gou had to report to work or lose his job. His boss didn't want to hear the words family emergency ever again. It was hard enough to keep a job when you had to keep leaving to fight the monster worm.  
  
He picked up a Walkman, slid in a CD, and fastened the headphones over his ears before kicking back on Hayate's neatly made bed with his boots on the comforter. He knew it'd tick off Hayate to see Sesame on his bed with his boots still on, and Sasame found an odd comfort in imagining Hayate's reaction.  
  
He couldn't believe Kei and Hayate would exclude him from whatever they were working on. But Kei and Hayate had been inseparable lately, their heads together talking softly. Growing silent whenever he or Gou joined them, changing the subject.  
  
Ever since the day Mannen - died. Sasame still had trouble saying that word. He tried different terms: gone to heaven, with the angels, passed on, moved on, gone to a better place, but they all meant dead- gone- left, and Sasame's eyes burned with tears at each term. It was bad enough that Mannen was - dead, Sasame fumed, but it really hurt that Hayate and Kei were cutting him out from whatever they were planning, as if he was still the baby of the clan, not mature enough to handle whatever they were plotting. It wasn't his fault that he was the last one born and it took another year and a half to replenish the leafe after Kei, Hayate, and Gou entered the world.  
  
It was because he hadn't had his Knighting Ceremony, he was sure. He counted the months in his head. Gou had his a year ago last August, but his wasn't for another four months- December. He couldn't wait another four months, he was sure he was mature enough to handle the oath. He didn't care if he never grew older than this almost seventeen years old. He might have trouble getting a driver's license, but he'd lie about it when the time came, he thought.  
  
Resentfully, he relived the days leading up to Mannen's - death. His mind flitted around his memories of prêt-ting with Takako. Feeling a blush on his cheeks, he chased away the thought. Takako was off-limits for any young Leife Knight right now. They'd never join together again.  
  
It wasn't love he felt for her, he thought, trying to convince himself, it's just what happens when a knight prêts with a Pretear. It was a very intimate act and it made you think you loved the person. When in reality, you just loved the rush of joining with her. That's what Gou always said about it, when they talked about how it felt to be inside another person. And the Pretear was always warm and it felt good to be protecting her from harm. Hayate was right to reject her love. It wasn't that kind of love.  
  
Sasame ignored the physical tug from another part of his body. A knight is in control of his emotions at all times. They learned that early in the training process from all three of the older knights. Sasame sighed and rolled over on his side, his hands behind his head. If I had my Knighting Ceremony, I'd be able to control these emotions, Sasame decided.  
  
"Get off my bed with your dirty boots," yelled Hayate, throwing a cold blast of air at him. Sasame sat up and slid his headphones around his neck.  
  
"I want to have my Knighting Ceremony today," he said as if Hayate had just entered their room.  
  
Hayate sat on the edge of the desk they shared, his feet on the chair and glared at Sasame. "At least take your boots off the blanket," he complained.  
  
Sasame slid his boots off the edge of the bed. "Did you hear me, Hayate?" Sasame asked impatiently.  
  
Hayate nodded.  
  
"Well?" Sasame asked.  
  
"You're not seventeen for another -" Hayate stopped to figure it out.  
  
"Four months, sixteen days, and who knows how many hours," replied Sasame. "What difference does it make? I mean, what difference does it really make- in the long run?"  
  
Hayate shook his head no. "Mannen wouldn't like it," he said.  
  
Sasame threw up a sound barrier. Hayate stood up to leave. Sasame withdrew the barrier. "Don't leave. You just make me so mad sometimes," he complained.  
  
Hayate laughed and Sasame looked up startled. "Remember the day we found you?" Hayate asked.  
  
Sasame was silent, his eyes wide. They never talked about the day they came home. It just wasn't done lightly. Hayate nodded and continued. "The big ones were getting really nervous because you hadn't arrived right after Gou. They talked about it constantly. It was Sasame this, Sasame that constantly."  
  
"They prepared the room after Gou arrived, even bought the bunk beds for it, but they wouldn't move Gou into it until you got here. It didn't help that Gou talked to you all the time like you were actually already here. It kind of freaked me out a little, watching Gou talking to someone that wasn't there, but Shin said you were waiting for just the right time to come home- like you couldn't decide if you wanted to be here or not."  
  
"It was Mannen who found you. He'd been out flying all over the city with Tipi for weeks without telling the other two guys during his spare time. He said when he found you, you were holding off a pack of wild dogs with your sound barrier. He had a hard time breaking through it, even after chasing away the dogs."  
  
Sasame remembered the day vividly, but tried to never think about it after Mannen brought him home. His parents were fighting constantly back then, mostly about him and who his real father was. Their fighting scared him, but he held on tight to the hope they'd quit fighting and start being nice again. He would hide under his bed, covered up with a blanket, blocking out the fighting, until one of them would roughly drag him out from under the bed and slap him for hiding from them. Mannen, he'd think when the fighting got too loud to block out, Mannen, Hajime, Shin, Kei, Hayate, Gou. He repeated their names as if they were a mantra that would keep him safe. Just about the time Tipi could focus on his location, he'd be yanked out of his safe place, breaking the connection.  
  
After a big fight late one night, his mother dragged him out from under the bed. Her eyes were swelling shut, and the corner of her lip was bleeding. She kept pressing a wet cloth to it gingerly. They waited in the cold night air for a taxi, his father raging and screaming in the background. Sasame shut him out completely until he didn't hear the curses or bangs coming from inside their home. His mother was silent in the taxicab, but shoved Sasame away from her when he curled up against her to sleep. They walked a long way after the taxi dropped them off. Sasame was so tired that he could hardly keep up with her long, angry strides. She dragged him by the arm until his arm felt like it was going to fall off.  
  
They got into the middle of the city and dawn was peeking around the skyscrapers, its bright yellows and oranges lighting up the night sky. Sasame pulled away from her, sitting on huge marble steps, too tired to take another step, wanting to watch day arrive.  
  
"Fine! Stay there, stupid," she said, walking away, never looking back.  
  
He was too tired to cry when she left him. He curled up on the step and slept until the commuters stepped over him on their way into their jobs and one accidentally kicked him. Startled, he woke up and ran, crying.  
  
When Mannen finally found him, he used up the last of his energy staving off a pack of six or seven wild dogs that decided he'd make a nice lunch for them.  
  
"Sasame," Mannen called through the sound barrier, but Sasame couldn't hear him. He saw the tall knight's lips moving, but he kept the barrier up until he fainted from exhaustion and hunger. Mannen scooped him up, and murmured Sasame's name repeatedly until he arrived home with the child.  
  
"Sasame," Gou shrieked spotting Mannen carrying the youngest knight into the house. He threw sparks of multi-colored fire streaks just like sparklers above Sasame's head until Hajime gripped him tightly around the neck, accusing him of trying to burn down the place.  
  
Shin held him so tight he could hardly breath. He saw Hayate eying him suspiciously behind Kei.  
  
"What's your point, Hayate? Besides digging up childhood memories?" Sasame asked coldly. Hayate looked hurt, but kept going.  
  
"There was a reason why you took so long to come home, Sasame. We might tease you about being the baby, but we were all happy when you finally decided to join us again. You don't need to rush growing up. Your Knighting Ceremony will happen at the right time, trust me, Sasame." Hayate finished in a rush. The room was silent after his speech. Sasame thought carefully about Hayate's words.  
  
"What are you and Kei doing?" he asked.  
  
Hayate shut his mouth firmly and shook his head. Sasame stormed out of the room, searching for Shin and Hajime at Liefenia. He found them, sitting silently by the pond with a unopened bottle of Ramune between them, each holding their own bottle between their hands. He felt awkward intruding, but he barged in anyway.  
  
"I want my Knighting Ceremony tonight," he demanded.  
  
They looked at each other and Hajime handed Sasame Mannen's bottle. He took it ungraciously and sat down next to the older knights.  
  
"It can't be tonight," Shin reminded Sasame gently. "You need time to prepare yourself."  
  
Sasame opened his mouth to protest, but Hajime agreed, "If you begin tonight, we can hold it two nights. That'll give you over 48 hours of fasting and contemplation." Hajime finished off the rest of his bottle, and stood up, dusting off the back of his pants. "Shin, I'll notify the rest. You help him prepare," he said before vanishing.  
  
"Are you sure you're doing this for the right reason?" Shin asked, rolling the bottle in his hands.  
  
Sasame listened to the marble rolling on the glass. He thought about Hayate's words, about seeing Mannen die, about the day he finally came home. He chased any thoughts of Takako away from the edges of his mind. "Yes," he replied solemnly. 


	7. The Early Snow

Chapter 7: Early Snow  
  
Protesting, Hayate and Kei tried to talk Shin and Hajime out of having Sasame's Knighting Ceremony early to no avail. They were adamant that if Sasame felt it was time, then he had that right. Kei and Hayate's objections made Sasame feel even stronger about going through with it.  
  
"Enough," Hajime finally declared, ending all further discussion. "Sasame's Ceremony is scheduled. Which of you three will be his second and be with him through the preparation time?"  
  
Hayate looked pleadingly at Kei who shook his head. Hayate flushed and turned away. He'd always thought he'd be Sasame's second during this experience. Sasame's eyes filled with hurt at the rejection. I'm sorry, Sasame, Hayate thought, I'll explain someday and we'll laugh about this. Kei and I just can't afford to lose the time right now. We're almost done with Mannen's plan. Forgive me, friend.  
  
Gou stepped next to Sasame. "I will," he declared, putting his body between Hayate and Sasame as if to block Sasame from being hurt anymore by Hayate. "I was the first to welcome Sasame home. It's my right." Little fireworks burst over Sasame's head, but no one laughed.  
  
Hajime nodded, "Good. You two get started." Sasame and Gou vanished and Hajime looked sternly at the two miserable remaining knights. "You want to explain, Hayate?" Hayate hung his head. "Kei?"  
  
Kei held out Mannen's battered marble journal to Hajime, the pages open to Mannen's original plan and his new notes. Hajime skimmed the pages quickly and looked up ashen.  
  
"We're almost done," Kei whispered. "We were going to tell you and Shin tonight," he finished.  
  
Hajime signaled Shin to join them. Shin appeared almost instantly and Hajime shoved the notebook at him. Shin barely read the pages. "I know," he said.  
  
Hajime looked up surprised. Hayate and Kei's mouth hung open. "It's the last thing Mannen and I talked about before--" Shin hesitated, and then continued, "It needs to be done, and my part is almost finished. That's what I've been working on in the garden, Haji."  
  
"When?" Hajime demanded.  
  
Kei sighed, "It's gotta' be after Sasame's ceremony now. We need all of us for it to work, and with Sasame and Gou gone-" he couldn't finish the thought.  
  
The warm sun made Gou dozy and he nodded off while Sasame sat lost in his own thoughts. Shin's question rolled around and around in his mind.  
  
"Gou?" Sasame asked.  
  
"Umm?' Gou replied sleepily.  
  
"What's it like?"  
  
"The ceremony?" Gou mumbled. Sasame threw a light sound wave at him, just enough to knock him awake. He sat up grinning, "Ok, Sasame. You've got my attention now."  
  
He reflected back on his own ceremony. "You've seen three of them in the last year. They're not very different. Mannen says a few-" he stopped, the smile drained away from his face. "Hajime or Shin says a few words, and"  
  
"Not the ceremony, stupid," Sasame interrupted, "the changes afterwards."  
  
Gou fell silent, thinking. He hadn't noticed any changes himself, but Shin said that it was because he had been so in tune to the others since he was an infant. He'd felt their presence, their moods, their health inside in a way he'd never been able to explain to anyone else. He'd just assumed the rest felt the same thing until he complained about not changing much after his ceremony. Kei and Hayate had both acted as if it was such a big thing that he'd felt let down.  
  
Sasame threw a dirt clod at his head, and he ducked, grinning. "I have more control over my talent," he confessed, "and I'm a little faster, but it didn't affect me the way it did Kei or Hayate. Shin says since we've prêt- ed so young, it's not so shocking, but that's what its like- a little, I guess. It's like always having everyone with you constantly. You know how you can always sense the others? Well, according to Hayate, it's like everyone moves into your brain and won't go home. But since I already felt that, it wasn't much different for me. Does that make sense?" He looked at Sasame worried.  
  
Sasame smiled at the thought of the very private Hayate having to live with five others in his brain constantly. "What's next?" he asked Gou.  
  
Gou smiled broadly, stretching out his hand, "First, your ear talisman."  
  
Sasame looked puzzled, reaching up and touching the Knight talisman that he had worn his entire life.  
  
"Take it off," Gou commanded. Sasame's fingers obeyed, dropping the small bead in Gou's hand. He felt strangely naked without it, totally disconnected from the others. Gou reached up around his own neck, and clipped off his own necklet, dropping both in a velvet pouch around his neck. He tucked the pouch back in his shirt carefully.  
  
Sasame protested when Gou removed his own, "But that means you'll age, Gou!"  
  
Gou nodded, "Two days, Sasame. It's just two days."  
  
Sesame looked confused. "But now we're totally out of contact with the others-"  
  
"For the first time in your life, Sesame," he concurred, "Kind of scary, isn't it? Now, what do you want to do?" he asked.  
  
Sesame didn't understand the question, "Do?"  
  
Gou ruffled Sesame's hair affectionately. "We've got two days to do anything you want - except eat, of course, since we're supposed to be fasting. What do you want to do?" He asked again patiently. "We can go anywhere, see anything, and do anything. It's kind of like your last fling."  
  
"I thought it was suppose to be a spiritual journey of reflection and contemplation," Sasame protested.  
  
"Before mine, Hajime told me that there are many different kinds of journeys. As many as there are knights, and no one's journey is wrong. This is your chance to see what you're giving up to become a knight."  
  
Sesame shrugged. He couldn't think of anything he wanted to do. "What did you and Hajime do before your ceremony?" he asked.  
  
Gou's smile grew even larger until it reflected in his eyes. "Surfing," he exclaimed. "Hajime and I went to Oahu's North Shore to surf the Banzai Pipeline. You ain't surfed until you've surfed with Hajime. Every wave was 12 foot high and cresting perfectly. We surfed until I couldn't pick up the board anymore."  
  
Sasame shook his head, finally understanding how Gou and Hajime had returned with suntans and chapped lips after two days. Gou had been so sore he could barely kneel during the ceremony. All this time he'd been imagining Gou fighting demons for two days, and he'd been surfing! Hajime with his talent for water was the perfect choice to take surfing with you. It was so typical of Gou to find the fun even in the most sacred task. "What did Kei and Hayate do?" he asked.  
  
Gou didn't know. "I never asked!" He leaned back on the green grass and looked up at the cloudless sky, waiting for Sasame to make his decision. He knew it'd take him a while, but he was content just to be there with him while he decided. He closed his eyes, searching for a sense of contact with the others. He didn't expect to find it since he'd removed his necklet, but to his surprise, deep inside, he could still feel Hayate's and Kei's agitation. He sent them calming thoughts, knowing they never listened to him.  
  
Sasame mulled over his options. There was nothing he wanted to do. Nowhere that he wanted to go. One thing kept coming to the forefront, but he shoved it down away from his consciousness. Before he knew it, the word popped right of his mouth, startling Gou.  
  
"Takako," he said. "I want to see Takako."  
  
Gou shook his head no, but Sasame got a stubborn look on his face. "You said anything- Gou," he reminded Gou firmly.  
  
"But," Gou started to protest.  
  
Sasame stood up, crossed his arms, and waited for Gou to give in.  
  
"We don't know where to find her even, Sasame. And it's dangerous." his voice trailed off at the look on Sasame's face. His heart sank. I really am the wrong one for this job, he thought. Hayate would never let this happen.  
  
"I can find her if I focus hard enough," Sasame said confidently.  
  
Hayate! Gou called to him, but there was no answer. Unhappy, he followed Sasame. 


	8. Shattered Icicles

Chapter 8: Shattered Icicles  
  
Hayate tilted his head sideways in shock. Kei looked at him with raised eyebrows. "I thought I heard Gou calling me," he explained, shaking his head as if to empty out the ghosts from inside. He stilled his mind, but he didn't hear Gou again and he couldn't feel him either.  
  
"They must have removed their talismans by now," Kei said, returning to his keyboard.  
  
"I don't feel them either," Hayate said, chewing on his lower lip.  
  
Kei tossed a sandwich at him. "Quit worrying about it, Hayate. Gou is the perfect person to accompany Sasame."  
  
Hayate caught it with one hand in the air, unwrapped it, and bit off a bite. It tasted like sawdust in his mouth. He washed the taste away, and turned his attention back to Kei. They were almost finished. Hajime and Shin were meeting with them later to review the last minute details. Everything would be ready to go after Sasame's ceremony.  
  
Sasame and Gou began at the small Church where Takako had attacked them slightly over a week ago. It seemed like a lifetime. Gou stood where Sasame had lain almost lifeless, and said a short prayer of thanks.  
  
In front of the communion alter, Sasame inspected the room. The shock he felt at seeing Takako rejecting her Pretear powers, changing into the Saihi, attacking his best friend surged back. He had rushed in without thinking. One hit and he was down. Hayate drew her attention away from him just before he passed out. He listened for any sounds of Takako. He listened with his heart first and then with his Knight talent. He narrowed down the sound pathway. Was that her? He wondered.  
  
Silently standing among the broken glass, Gou watched the sunlight dance on its surface, casting butterfly shadows on the walls. A tendril of fear crept inside him, making him shiver from the arctic emptiness that he felt. He felt the desolation left from Mannen's absent multiplying inside him. He fell to his knees from the weight of despair on his heart. Gou's hands hit the floor with a thump and he could feel the jagged edges of glass slicing his palms and knees. At least I can still feel something, he thought, the cold hasn't taken over all of me.  
  
Sasame looked over alarmed by Gou's reaction. Gou labored to pull himself upright. Trembling from the fearsome cold, he waved Sasame away. He collapsed on a pew, closing his eyes, waiting for the ceiling to stop spinning. Sasame peered over the pew down on him. He heard Sasame's voice as if it were coming from beneath ocean waves. Gou, Gou, Gou, the waves roared, crashing over him. Hayate! Hajime! Shin! Kei! He called repeatedly. Hayate! Hajime! Shin! Kei! Kei! Kei! Kei! Cold water splashed on his face. He sputtered, and wiped it away with his arm. More poured on. He sat up and opened his eyes, seeing Sasame holding a bucket of water, ready to splash more on if needed. He put up his hand to ward him off. "Enough, Sasame! Enough!" he called out, the dread ebbed away quickly.  
  
"What happened, Gou?" Sasame asked concerned.  
  
Gou had no words to explain what had just occurred to him. "Did you trace her?" he asked, changing the subject, anxious to finish the task quickly.  
  
Sasame nodded, "I think so."  
  
Gou pulled himself up and dusted off his knees. He looked at his palms, but the injuries were superficial. "Let's go, man."  
  
Hayate and Kei quit working instantly to respond to Gou's call. When they appeared at the old Church, they found Shin and Hajime wandering around the sanctuary confused. "You heard it too?" Hajime demanded.  
  
They shook their heads yes. "It doesn't make sense," Hajime grumbled. "I'm sure they've removed their talismans by now."  
  
Kei looked at the drying water and bucket lying on its side next to the pew Gou had been lying in minutes earlier. "Gou's wearing the velvet bag?" he asked, remembering his own journey fifteen months earlier. Shin had worn it when they went together. Shin nodded. "Maybe Gou's connecting through the velvet," he suggested.  
  
"That's never happened before," conceded Hajime, "but then, Gou and Sasame have never gone together before, according to Mannen's notes."  
  
"Think we can convince him to store them on the computer next time?" Kei complained. He hated the idea of having to skim all those journals for valuable information when it could be organized in databases and charts, and easily accessed.  
  
"Why were they here?" asked Shin, worriedly.  
  
Hayate perched on the lectern and surveyed the room carefully. "Takako," he said, surprising himself. The word hung between them in the room like a note lingering after a concert.  
  
"If that's true," Kei said softly, "We're running out of time."  
  
"I'm ready," Shin replied swiftly. Kei nodded.  
  
"We'll have to wait for the next call," Hajime said ruefully.  
  
Be careful, Sasame, Gou, Hayate pleaded silently, but there was no response. 


	9. Artic Hearts

Chapter 9 Artic Hearts  
  
The cold evening wind made the two young knights shiver as Sasame tracked down the sound he thought was Takako. The first wrong landing put them in the middle of a high school English class. They disappeared as quickly as they arrived, startling the students.  
  
After several other miscues, Sasame was sure he'd narrowed it down. They landed cautiously on the rooftop of a tower on the suspension bridge crossing the sea. Lights on the bridge blinked on and off warning airplanes of the tall truss girders holding the wire cables in place. From their vantage point, they could see the island at the other end of the bridge. The mountains in the distance loomed over the tiny shining lights from the island inhabitants.  
  
The ocean looked cold and forbidding. The water is as black as Takako's eyes when she is angry, thought Sasame.  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
The voice startled both of them. Sasame bowed low before the Saihi while Gou examined her face for any sign of the young Pretear he'd prêt-ed with frequently. He searched his insides for recognition or a cue that Takako was still inside the Saihi, but he came up empty. It is a fool's errand, for sure, he thought, still unsure of what Sasame hoped to accomplish on this mission. Takako was gone completely, her power converted into a cold desperate hate. He hoped Sesame understood the young Pretear was gone permanently.  
  
Sasame looked deep in her eyes, and flushed, remembering how warm it felt being connected to her. She broke away from his glaze. He stepped toward her, but she flew away. He followed her without thinking. He offered her his hand. She slapped him so hard it knocked him off balance. He plummeted down toward the street.  
  
Gou formed a fireball and aimed, but obeying the Saihi's every command, vines rapidly grew up the cables from the bridge, grabbing Gou, leashing him to the girders before he could fly away. The fireball in his hand fell into the water, sputtering before dying out uselessly. He watched helpless, the leafe being sucked out of his body rapidly, and called out to the missing knights. "Hajime, Shin, Kei, Hayate, Mannen!"  
  
She laughed at hearing him calling the dead Liefe Knight's name. "He's dead, Gou!" she taunted, "Just like you'll be in seconds. Two down and five to go!" Her words echoed in Gou's ears.  
  
"Mannen!" Gou cried out again, uttering a prayer of protection over Sasame before closing his eyes.  
  
Regaining his balance, Sasame appearing back in front of Takako. His face burning from imprint of her hand, he reached for her, offering her his hand. "Takako," he said earnestly. She stretched out her hand right past his face and the purple familiars rose into the night sky, blocking the remaining light from the moon. He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his face, feeling her cold fingers draining the heat from his body. She coldly glared at him as if he was a stranger, and Sesame's heart shattered from the rejection. He couldn't reach her, lost in her hatred. He'd known he'd be able to convince her to prêt with him once more. "Prêt with me, Takako," he whispered, "Prêt with me." He fell to his knees before her, holding her hand still on his cheek with both of his hands, his eyes begging her to see him, to recognize him. He blocked out what was happening with Gou. He couldn't bear to think about it as well.  
  
Brilliant light slashed through the familiars, temporarily blinding Sasame. Hayate's Wind Sword hacked through Gou's bindings, and Gou collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The remaining Knights encircled Sasame and Takako.  
  
"Step back, Sasame," Hajime commanded. As if deaf, Sesame froze, unable to move a muscle, his leafe evaporating from the touch of her hand on his face.  
  
"Saihi," a young firm voice distracted her, and she pulled her hand away from Sasame's in disgust. Hayate floated above her right out of reach. "You're wasting your time with him when it's me you're angry at." Her eyes flashed and he dodged her hit. She flew after him.  
  
He darted and dodged in the night sky, each hit getting closer to him. Hajime flew between them, shooting from his water cannon. She twisted out of reach and returned the aim, hitting him full-force in the chest. His leafe poured out of his body into the night sky. He gave her one last blast and then Hajime fell from the sky, tumbling head over heels, without a cry, slamming into the pavement below.  
  
Gou pulled himself to standing, and flew down to his side. Retching, Gou turned away.  
  
Sasame sat on his heels, blind and deaf to the commotion around him. Kei called his name loudly, "Sasame! Sasame!" but Sasame didn't respond.  
  
Kei turned his back to Sasame and rejoined the battle. Hayate and Shin were tiring and without help, their plan would fail. Then Kei remembered that Gou and Sasame weren't wearing their Knight talisman. He swooped down next to Gou, grieving over the loss of Hajime.  
  
"Get up," Kei commanded. Gou looked up at him through his tears. "Get up, or we all die now." Gou complied automatically to Kei's voice. "Don't look down in battle," Kei said, reaching in Gou's shirt and yanking out the velvet bag. He threw Gou his necklet and without thinking, Gou fastened it around his neck. Kei tossed him the bag. "Make Sasame put on his ear piece, and then we need your help, Gou. Help or we all die tonight. Do you want to be responsible for the death of the knights and the world, Gou?"  
  
Gou responded to Kei's directions without comment. He shook Sasame, but Sasame refused to respond. He put Sasame's earpiece on Sasame's ear, and hollered. Sasame put up a sound barrier between them, knocking Gou back. He picked himself up. "Sasame," Hayate called. "Sasame, Wake up." Distracted, he took a hit, trying to muffle the cry from the pain shooting through his body.  
  
"A little more, Hayate," Shin called. "She's almost there."  
  
Gou flew up to Kei's side. Kei nodded, "Surround her and force her to go toward Shin. He's waiting." Gou nodded and moved into position.  
  
"Sasame," Hayate screamed. His voice squealed over the barrier's surface, skittering away. "Sasame!" Sasame dropped the sound barrier down. "Sasame, don't let us die tonight."  
  
His hand on the bruise her hand left behind on his face, Sasame looked at the night sky, at his brothers surrounding the woman he loved. He couldn't choose a side so he watched helplessly as they moved in forcing her closer toward Shin's leafe cage.  
  
She tried to move right, but Kei blocked her movement with his light ball. She shot at Shin, who refused to dodge, afraid the trap would fail if he moved. He took the strike without a sound. Sasame sobbed as Shin attempted to hide his injury from the others.  
  
Gou moved her to the left and closer to Shin with his fireballs, while Hayate blocked her above. She screamed as the Knights forced her closer and closer to Shin. She darted around Kei and started to break free aiming right for Hayate. Hayate wasn't going to be able to block the shot.  
  
Without stopping to think, Sasame flew into block her movement, forcing her into the cage. Shin shut the door, and collapsed. 


	10. Spring Thaw

Chapter 10: Spring Thaw  
  
Hayate sat on the edge of the pond, staring at the oak tree holding Saihi for eternity. Shin did a good job creating a prison, even if Sasame and Gou are still uncomfortable with imprisoning Saihi. We'll have to watch it closely without Shin here to maintain it, Hayate thought. This has been a costly failure on my part. We've lost the three oldest because of it. I don't know how the others can stand me. He held a velvet pouch in his hand, dangling it from the satin ribbons wrapped around his slender fingers. It swung slightly in the gentle breeze off the pond.  
  
Kei appeared next to him and they sat silently. Hayate waited for Kei's blunt truthfulness to tell him to snap out of it, but Kei was wordless. Kei thought about the countless times he had found the older three sitting on the bank like this trying to decide what to do about the most recent crisis of the day. He never thought he'd be sitting here by Hayate doing the same thing.  
  
"Sasame wants to go through with his Knighting Ceremony," Gou said, tossing each of them a familiar bottle of sweet soda. Neither of them jumped at his sudden arrival.  
  
Hayate rolled the warm bottle in hand. "'Member how Mannen would chill these with just a touch?" Hayate said, lifting his bottle of Rumune up to the light. Kei and Gou nodded in agreement. Stillness fell between the friends.  
  
"Can we do the ceremony ourselves without the older knights?" Hayate asked after a while, feeling the weight of the velvet pouch pulling on his fingers.  
  
Kei nodded, "Mannen wrote it down after he did each of ours. You just have to read it, Hayate. I left the journal on your bed."  
  
Hayate looked surprised. "Me? You're the oldest, Kei. The leader's always the oldest."  
  
Gou and Kei shook their heads no. "We agreed, all three of us. You're in charge now."  
  
Hayate hide his face between his knees, his long hair covering it completely. "It's all my fault this happened," he muttered.  
  
"That's why you're in charge, Hayate. You'll never forget the cost of failure." Kei replied coldly.  
  
"Besides, we all failed this time," Gou said, trying to soften Kei's brisk words.  
  
"Not to mention, you won't take direction from anyone else," Kei reminded him.  
  
Sasame joined them quietly and Gou handed him the fourth bottle. "Well, Hayate?" Sasame asked softly.  
  
Hayate searched Sasame's eyes, but all he saw was his own sad reflection mirrored back. He nodded yes. "If you want to," he said faintly.  
  
"How long will we have to wait for them to rejoin us?" Gou asked sadly.  
  
"If you read Mannen's journals about raising us, you wouldn't be in a rush," Kei said ruefully.  
  
Hayate opened the velvet pouch and pulled out the talismans of the missing knights one at a time. He handed Mannen's armlet to Kei. Kei held it briefly. A small smile flickered across his face as he remembered skating with Mannen in the backyard as a child. He passed it to Gou quickly.  
  
Gou didn't bother searching it for any remnant of Mannen. He was slowly coming to terms with the hollowness inside him where Mannen, Hajime, and Shin had resided his entire life.  
  
Hayate pulled out Hajime's hair bead and gave it to Sasame. Sasame heard it loudly speaking to him. "Duty, responsibility, protection of your brothers, you are a Liefe Knight forever, never forget," reminded Hajime as Sasame held the bead tightly. He reluctantly released it to Kei.  
  
Hayate reached in, feeling Shin's necklace. Memories of Shin's sacrifice flooded his mind. He showed it to the others. They passed the talismans around, each saying good-by in their own way. They returned each precious one to the bag where it would wait for it's owner to reclaim it and Hayate flew to the tallest tree in Liefenia.  
  
They joined him as he tied the bag to the highest branch available. "Hurry home, Mannen, Hajime, Shin," Hayate said. "We need you, Knights." They popped open the bottles of Rumune and poured them on the ground below the talismans. The golden liquid shone and sparkled as it splashed on the green grass below them.  
  
"Hurry home," murmured Gou, "hurry home. I'll be waiting for you." 


End file.
